When rookie running back Jerick McKinnon joined the Vikings last spring, he heard a lot of the same stuff he heard while out and about in the Twin Cities.

It seemed there was this thing about the Green Bay Packers.

"When I first got here, I kept hearing about, 'We hate Green Bay' and a lot of that stuff," said the Atlanta native. "I really didn't know about (the rivalry) being from the South, so it's something I kind of picked up on. When I was out and trying to find my way around the city, fans would come up to me and say, 'Beat Green Bay.'

"So I guess I'm starting to understand the heat of the rivalry."

McKinnon will make his first appearance at Lambeau Field on Thursday night when the Vikings and Packers renew one of the NFL's best rivalries on national television. It will be the 108th meeting between the teams, with Green Bay holding a 56-49-2 edge.

That includes two playoff meetings, both at Lambeau. The Vikings won in 2004, the game in which Minnesota wide receiver Randy Moss pretended to moon the crowd, and the Packers won in 2012.

"The characters involved have always been good," Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway said of the rivalry. "It's always been good games. ... It's a good rivalry. It's as good as any one out there."

Greenway has faced the Packers 15 times since entering the NFL with the Vikings in 2006. He's been ruled out for Thursday's game because of a broken hand and broken rib that also forced him to miss last week's 41-28 victory over Atlanta, ending a streak of 90 consecutive starts and 115 consecutive games.

Meanwhile, first-year Vikings coach Mike Zimmer is still learning about the rivalry.

"Honestly, I don't know that much about it," Zimmer said. "I understand about the rivalry, but I'm just trying to get our guys prepared to go and play a good game."

It's a natural rivalry considering Minnesota and Wisconsin border each other and the teams both play in the NFC North. But the series has been stirred up by notable players on both teams.

Among those who have gone from Green Bay to Minnesota are quarterback Brett Favre, safety Darren Sharper and kicker Ryan Longwell, although Favre did have a 2008 buffer season with the New York Jets before he led the Vikings to a pair of victories over the Packers in 2009. The latest former Packer in Minnesota is wide receiver Greg Jennings, who switched teams before last season.

Like it or not, the Packers have had a better history. Since Minnesota entered the NFL in 1961, Green Bay has won seven championships to the Vikings' zero.

Still, the Vikings made it to four Super Bowls between the 1969 and 1976 seasons. That included a period when they really pushed the Packers around, winning 18 of 21 games from 1968-78.

In recent years, the series has favored Green Bay. Since taking over as Packers coach in 2006, Mike McCarthy is 12-4-1 against the Vikings, although he does still speak nicely of that team to the west.

"I just (like) the history and warring states," McCarthy said. "And that's always a fun game to play in. It's always been a tough game. Minnesota is a physical game, and (with) Thursday night football, national TV, I'm sure it won't disappoint."

Helping McCarthy win a lot of those games has been quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who replaced Favre as the starter in 2008. Rodgers is 8-4 against the Vikings, missing the 26-26 tie last November at Lambeau Field in the last meeting.

"I think there's a mutual dislike between the fans (of the teams)," Rodgers said. "An interstate rivalry always has helped. We've had some great games over the last few years, some important games. I think about (Adrian Peterson) rushing for 2,000 yards there a couple of years back to get (the Vikings) into the playoffs."

Interesting that Rodgers brought up Minnesota's 37-34 win in the 2012 regular-season finale at the Metrodome, the only game the Packers have lost to the Vikings this decade. Perhaps he's still using it as motivation.